A Christmas Kaito
by Colormyworld
Summary: Oneshot. KaitoxAoko. Kaito wants to tell Aoko the truth about his feelings and identity, so the ghost of Toichi sends Christmas spirits, disguised as people he knows, to show him the potential future. Features Hakuba, Ran, Shinichi, Akako, Conan, and Jodi


Warnings: OOCness, death, depressing things...all of that Christmas goodness! Color knows little about medicine.  
Notes: Not really following "A Christmas Carol". You may really want more of an ending/a sequel for this...but you'll have to review and let me know because I probably won't make one unless at least five people ask.  
WTF Is He Talking About? If you're confused about a reference, it's probably to Conan VS Yaiba VS Kid OVA. Or maybe the Black Star case in DC. These are not necessary to read the fic, but you'll giggle if you do know them.

A Christmas Kaito

He had no idea what he was going to do.

Aoko was starting to catch on and graduation was approaching. Hakuba and Akako knew the truth and eventually one of them might slip. On purpose. Even though they were both obsessed with him in a creepy way...

Kaito wanted to tell Aoko everything, really he did. About:

-his career as a phantom thief

-his father's murder

-the organization that caused it all

-his feelings

Bulleting did not help.

He was in bed, sleeping on Christmas Eve. Something told him to call her the next morning and confess at least something to her. She deserved to know the truth.

But...

He didn't want to lose her, either.

"Hm. That is quite a predicament."

Kaito sat up in bed as soon as he heard the voice. "Who said that?"

His father's ghost threw up his hands. He was floating by the foot of Kaito's bed.

Kaito nearly fainted but tried to remain conscious. He had seen worse. "D-dad?"

"The ghost of your dad." Toichi corrected. "Now, I heard about your problem with Nakamori-san's daughter. I can help...you know, as a Christmas present."

Putting aside his confusion, Kaito had to ask him. "How?"

"Tonight, my son, you will be visited by entities."

"Three ghosts, to show me the past, present and future?"

Toichi chuckled. "No, that's boring. I don't know how many, but each will guide you to a different future depending on what decision you make about telling Aoko the truth. At the end of the night, they'll bring you home and you can decide what's best. Sounds like a pretty good present to me."

Kaito closed his eyes and rubbed his head, incredibly confused. "I don't understa--" He opened his eyes again and his father had vanished.

"Must've been a dream." Kaito muttered, falling back asleep.

"I think not."

Kaito snapped awake at the familiar British voice. "Hakuba?"

"No," the tweed-wearing detective countered, "I'm a spirit who has taken a form familiar to you. I wouldn't want to confuse you even more than you already are."

"I dunno, I'm already pretty confused..." Kaito started.

"You can call me Hakuba." The spirit added.

"Whatever. Where're you taking me? Dad said something about possible futures?"

Hakuba sighed. "Yes, I'll be bringing you to a future where you don't tell her anything. You never confess your love, your identity, or your connection the organization. Ready?"

"Yeah, but I'm not holding your hand to time-travel." Kaito rolled out of bed.

Hakuba grumbled something to himself and snapped his fingers.

"How far is this into the future?" Kaito asked, seeing nothing new.

"Twenty years. They can't see us, by the way. We're like ghosts here." The blonde replied.

They passed through the wall of Kaito's room, with Hakuba leading the way, and floated downstairs to the street. It was daytime now and Kaito knew this had to be a dream.

"Where're we going?" Kaito asked.

"To the home of the real, future Saguru Hakuba." He answered.

"Why Hakub--" Kaito started to ask another question but froze as they passed through the walls of a cookie-cutter house near his own.

Saguru Hakuba was sitting in a chair looking _very_ unhappy. He had a book open on his lap, and scribbled something out in it. "Holmes would never do that." He muttered to himself.

The home looked rather broken-down on the inside, Kaito noted. He had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

Indeed, a balding Kaito sauntered into the room with a beer bottle in his hand. "Yo, tantei, leavin' for a date..." He headed towards the door.

Hakuba lifted one eye from the book and the present Kaito realized that the other one was blind and diseased, somehow. It wasn't going to move.

"Minako again?"

"Nah, Shiori." Future Kaito replied, taking a hole-covered coat off a hanger.

"Bring me your leftover food. We're out again. Watson's hungry." Hakuba began to pet a blanket.

"Watson died like ten years ago, right?" The future Kaito asked.

"No, she's here, you fool!" Hakuba threw his book at the thief.

The spirit who resembled Hakuba sighed. "See? Look what you got us into."

Present Kaito frowned. "I thought you weren't really Hakuba."

"Let's say I am. In this future, you never told Aoko anything so she began dating another classmate and eventually married him. At one heist, your identity was close to being exposed to Aoko and you let Hakuba get hurt. You felt guilty about the brain damage and have cared for him since."

"Ew. Definitely not doing that." Kaito whispered.

The spirit snapped his fingers and they were back in Kaito's present room. "Moral of the story? At least tell the girl you love her."

"I can do that." Kaito agreed as the spirit vanished. That little scene was more than enough to convince him. The thief tried to fall asleep...

X

"Up, Kuroba."

"Holy--!" Kaito sat up again, only to face himself. "What, you're such an obnoxious spirit that you're taking on my own face? After becoming Hakuba? Do you know how weird that is?"

The second spirit, wearing a blue school uniform, leaned back against a wall. "I'm not the same spirit who visited you earlier, Kuroba. I'm using the personality and appearance of Shinichi Kudo...although _I_ will not be leaving you for a case. You may as well consider me Detective Kudo." He crossed his arms.

"Kudo and I look alike." Kaito commented, staring at the spirit.

"Yeah, it freaks me out." Shinichi agreed. "Anyway, Kuroba, we've gotta go to another potential future. My colleague showed you what would happen if you didn't tell Aoko anything. I'm going to give you a preview of your life if you confess your love for her within the year. Ready?"

Kaito sighed. "Do I really have a choice?"

"No." Shinichi replied, clapping twice.

They reappeared in a beautiful, lavish mansion. "Someone's a show-off." Shinichi commented.

"Me?" Kaito asked, glancing around the marble foyer. "Really? This is my house, Kudo?"

"In this future it is. Well...sort of. You'll see. They can't see us, though..."

"Toichi, answer the door!" A girl's voice whined from the other side of the heavy wooden door.

A little boy, perhaps ten years old, smiled to himself as he ran down the stairs and over to the door. With much effort, he opened it and squealed at the sight of the brunette girl his own age.

"Yuki! Hi!"

"Touuuu, you take so long to answer the door." The girl complained as the tiny boy forced the door closed and the pair escaped upstairs.

"She looks like you~~" Kaito commented.

Shinichi ignored him.

"I'm pregnant, not terminal. Please don't worry too much about me...try to enjoy your trip. I know your mother isn't doing well." It was Aoko's voice, as kind as ever. She stepped down the staircase, looking more mature than ever and insanely beautiful. Kaito held back tears at the thought of possessing all of thi--

Who was Aoko kissing now?

Was that Hakuba?

"Shortly after telling her the truth, you two are married and have Toichi. Things go well until the organization threatens your family's death if you don't turn yourself in. You obey and they kill you. Aoko doesn't know what happens to you, but after years of heartache she marries Hakuba to avoid being alone."

Kaito fell to his knees. "Kudo, what do I _do_? Do I tell her the whole truth? Then they can still hunt her. They can still hurt her."

"You have three more choices left, Kuroba. I'm not going to show you them, though." Shinichi clapped twice and they were back to the present. "Your third guide should arrive soon."

Kaito was not even going to attempt falling asleep again. This time he would wait.

X

Sure enough, his next spirit guide soon appeared before him.

"Kaito..."

"Aoko?"

The spirit gave him a kind smile. "No, but just like the others, I'll be using her form and personality. I'm here to show you a very depressing option."

Kaito stared at the ghost that had taken on the appearance of his best friend, the person this entire conflict was centered on. "What's that?"

"What will happen if you die within the week. Either because of a botched attempt against the organization or your own work." Aoko closed her eyes. "Are you ready?"

Kaito sighed. "I really don't like that option."

"Yes, but you have to see it anyway." She replied, taking his hand and clicking her tongue twice.

They vanished, reappearing in a graveyard.

"Oh, man..." Kaito sighed.

"We're sixty years into the future." Aoko said, leading him over to a grave with his own name on it. "Even though, according to this future, you died on the new year."

"I'm not going to die within the week, so isn't this pointless?" Kaito frowned. "I don't want to take this path."

"I only show you what I've been instructed to. Your father is the one who arranged all of this." Aoko replied as an elderly woman slowly made her way towards the grave.

She was wearing black and was incredibly pale, as if she never came into the sunlight. She sat beside the grave, on the ground, not noticing Kaito and Aoko's presence.

She fingered an engagement ring as she began to tear up. "I still don't understand, baka." She whispered, her voice creaking at the effort of speaking.

The spirit disguised as Aoko sighed. "Kaito, this is Aoko Nakamori. You never confessed or proposed to her, but you gave her a ring as a gift and died immediately after. This future is similar to the first one you saw, but with the condition that you die within the week."

"I don't understand. She didn't move on?" Kaito frowned. "In the other futures--"

"In the first future, she gave up after years of hoping. In the second, she had responsibilities and didn't want your son to grow up without a father...even if it had to be Hakuba." Aoko looked rather upset as the elderly woman whispered to the grave.

"Hey, spirit Aoko..." Kaito was confused by something else. "The other spirits didn't use third person, so why do you? Shouldn't you speak as if you _are_ Aoko?"

The spirit blinked at him awkwardly. "I don't know...there's no protocol for these things. We're not the same spirit just visiting over and over again. I do it differently than the others." She crossed her arms, reminding him of his best friend--the one the spirit was impersonating.

"So if I die within the week, Aoko will be miserable forever." Kaito concluded.

Aoko nodded. "Yes, you're correct."

"So I have to live--" Kaito started but was not able to finish, as he was back in bed.

Five options total, the Shinichi-spirit had said. That meant only two more left...

Kaito tried to sleep while he waited. He was getting worn out...

X

"Up, Kuroba Kaito."

It was an order and Kaito obeyed. He sighed. "I should've known the last spirit would be you."

Akako glared at him. "Time is running out and the world does not revolve around you. The options must be revealed before dawn and I have other business to attend to, so hurry."

"Geez, you're a mean spirit." Kaito muttered, standing up. "What kinda future are you taking me to?"

Akako crossed her arms. "I will be taking you to a future where you tell Aoko everything on Christmas Day."

Kaito frowned. Akako had gotten over her crush on him a while ago, and apparently the spirit was reflecting that. Lately, she was incredibly annoyed by Kaito in general.

"I think I'll like this option." Kaito grinned. "Show me, Koizumi."

Akako waved a hand and they were on the museum's rooftop. "One week from now." She narrated. "You have just told Aoko."

Kaito, dressed as Kid, was standing across the rooftop, facing Aoko.

She was crying.

"How could you? How could--?" Aoko slapped Kid and fell to the ground. "Kaito! You were the one who ruined my life? And the organization is still--?" She gasped suddenly.

"Aoko?" Kaito and Kid said simultaneously as the brunette fell to the ground and blood began to rush from a wound in her head.

The man dressed in black sighed from a nearby rooftop. "Missed." He muttered, running away. "Next time, Kid! This was a warning!" He shouted over his shoulder, covering up his mistake.

"No!" Kid ran to Aoko's body and tried to stop the bleeding but it seemed to be too late.

"Aoko! Aoko!" Kaito shouted, running over to the two but he was a spirit for all purposes. He began to cry as Kid did.

Nakamori opened the stairway to the roof and Kid stood up, horrified. "Nakamori-keibu..." He couldn't move.

Nakamori's eyes widened. "Aoko! Aoko! Kid, damn you!" He cursed every word in his vocabulary, spanning languages and time, as he grabbed his daughter and tried to save her.

"They...I didn't..."

"Damn it, you! Go get a medic!" Nakamori ordered his men, and they left...despite the lack of hope. Aoko was already gone....or was she?

There Kid was, exposed for Nakamori to see, but the officer was too concerned with his daughter. "Aoko! Please, Aoko!"

Kid removed the hat and monocle, digging through his coat for something--anything--to help. "Aoko!"

"Kuroba..." Nakamori whispered, recognizing his daughter's best friend instantly. This was no time to ask questions, though.

Aoko's eyes fluttered open. "Kaito..." She smiled slightly before falling unconscious.

The officers rushed up with doctors behind them as Kaito stood watching with a blank look on his face.

"The bullet was not fatal. She lives, but loses most of her mental capacity. She cannot walk, see, or comprehend things that she learned past middle school." Akako said casually, pulling Kaito away. "At least Nakamori neglected to turn you in."

"How can you say those things with such a tone?!" Kaito cried, escaping Akako's grasp. "Koizumi, it's hopeless! No matter what I do, we can't be happy! The only way to make her happy is for me to die!"

The redhead slapped him with all her might, sending him to the ground. He stared up at her.

"You _fool_." She whispered, and he only then noticed the concern in her eyes. "You are supposed to be Nakamori Aoko's greatest friend in this realm, yet I can see the truth more than you can! Your death would not bring her joy, you moronic mortal. She loves you so much that losing you would kill her too!"

"She seemed fine in that first future. Hakuba said she was married to someone else." Kaito whispered as the future Aoko was rushed to the hospital.

"He was correct, in that future she did marry someone else." Akako said darkly, glaring at Kaito. "She was miserable. She was abused, lonely, and completely lost. She needed you as much as you needed her. She _needs_ you as much as you _need_ her. There is no need to speak in the past tense, Kuroba Kaito, about things that have yet to occur."

She waved a hand and they were back in his room.

"I still have one more ghost coming...is that the future I want most?" Kaito was heartbroken and exhausted. Everything seemed hopeless now.

"You are incorrect. There were only three spirits available on Christmas. It is a busy season. You were only meant to see three possible futures." Akako explained with a sigh.

Kaito stared at her. "What? First I had Hakuba, then Shinichi, then Aoko, then you. That's four."

Akako raised an eyebrow. "As I said, there are only three spirits available on Christmas. Each showed you a possible future."

"Then you, spirit number four, showed me the fo--" Kaito froze. "Koizumi?"

"Yes?" Akako asked as a nail file appeared. She began to work on a fingernail.

"Are you actually...Koizumi? Not a spirit appearing to be her?"

Akako rolled her eyes. "Of course I am not a spirit. Spirits cannot take the forms of witches."

This had to be a dream. Right? This could not be the real Koizumi here in his room, showing him the future. Kaito rubbed his head. "Koizumi, you're saying that you illegally showed me a possible future?"

"Consider it a gift." Akako's nail file vanished.

"But there's supposed to be one last potential future. Can you show me it, too?"

"Yes, I can, but I will not." The witch replied. "As you will see it soon enough. I do have one more gift for you, though...one that will assist you with your true future."

Kaito frowned. "You do?"

The redhead smirked darkly. "Oh yes."

X

It was Christmas morning and Ran was cheerfully reading a novel that her mother had sent her as a gift.

Kogoro was drinking wine, given to him by himself, and Conan was examining a new video game that was hardly a match for his intellect.

The doorbell rang and Ran headed for the door. She opened it, only to see Shinichi.

"Shinichi!" She gasped, hugging him.

"Sorry, no..." Kaito slipped out of her grasp. "I'm Kaito Kuroba, a friend of Conan's. I've heard that Detective Kudo resembles me, though."

Ran blinked at him. True, Shinichi was never that...slippery...maybe this was the boy she saw when Sonoko was discussing the Black Star with her!

"Oh. Conan, you have a visitor..." Ran shouted inside.

"Coming..." Conan had heard the conversation at the door. "Can Mr. Kuroba and I go talk outside?" He asked sweetly.

Ran nodded. "Sure...just don't take too long." She waved to the pair as they headed out towards the street.

"How'd you find me?" Conan asked in a more mature tone.

Kaito really wanted to tease him, but this was not the time. "Look, we both know the other's identity now, and my name isn't fake. Can we call a temporary truce?"

Conan eyed him uncertainly. "Fine..._temporary_." He didn't like this.

"I'm after the same organization you are...and a friend of mine just gave me enough proof to stop them." Kaito took off his bookbag and gestured to a thick file inside. "Can you get these to the FBI? No offense, but I want to keep my identity secret so going there myself is not an option."

Conan raised an eyebrow, taking the file out. "These are blank."

"What?!" Kaito reached into the bag, staring at the blank pages. "She tricked me...why?"

"I did not trick you." Akako appeared before them, nearly making both boys faint.

"The words will appear when the area is secure. It is a magical safety precaution." She continued.

"Hey, you're the fortuneteller that Ayumi called old!" Conan accused.

Akako's eye twitched. "So I recall. Let us all go the headquarters now."

Conan sighed. "Headquarters is in--what the hell?!"

"Welcome to America." Akako said casually as the three appeared in Jodie's office. The woman had taken a Christmas vacation and returned home.

Jodie blinked at the trio before fainting.

"She will awaken soon enough..." Akako noted, sitting on Jodie's desk and examining her well-filed nails.

"How'd you get the files, anyway, Koizumi?" Kaito wondered.

"Lucifer gave me them." The answer seemed obvious to the witch. "They should have photographic, video, and written evidence of every sin each member of the organization committed."

"Lucifer?" Conan whispered to Kaito.

"Don't ask." Kaito advised.

X

The organization fell quickly after that and telling Aoko everything became a simple task.

She did not even mop him when he told her that he would keep being Kid and searching for Pandora--for his father's sake.

He knew that he and Aoko would marry, and that they were going to be happy. Other than that, he was not sure.

After all, he wasn't there yet.


End file.
